GREEN BAY — Apparently, the Green Bay Packers’ kicking competition is over. Or maybe there never really was one to begin with.

One day after head coach Matt LaFleur declared that Brandon McManus and Lucas Havrisik were in a “competitive situation” to decide who’d handle the kicking duties in Monday night’s matchup between the Packers (5-2-1) and defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) at Lambeau Field.

“And [we will] go with who we feel like gives us the best opportunity to go out there and compete and win,” LaFleur said.

On Friday, special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was asked who’ll be kicking on Monday night, and Bisaccia immediately replied, “Brandon McManus.”

Told LaFleur had said McManus and Havrisik were competing in practice this week, Bisaccia shot back, “Then maybe you need to ask the head coach. If you’re asking me, it’s Brandon McManus. I didn’t see it as a competition this week. I saw it as he’s getting healthier, he’s had a pretty good week kicking the ball.”

McManus has been dealing with a quadriceps strain in his right (kicking) leg since feeling discomfort during an Oct. 8 practice. He sat out the next two games, during which Havrisik, signed after a tryout, made all 10 of his kicks — six extra points and four field goals, including a franchise-record 61-yarder at Arizona on Oct. 19.

Since then, McManus has handled the kicking duties, missing 57- and 44-yard field-goal attempts in the Packers’ Oct. 26 win at Pittsburgh, then missing a 43-yarder on the opening possession of the third quarter of last Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field. The kick would have given the Packers a 9-7 lead at the time.

“Last week, I kicked like [expletive]. Played terrible last week and pretty much again today,” McManus told PackersNews.com after Sunday’s game. “I can’t miss kicks that are well within my range. Played terrible.”

For the season, McManus is 11 of 16 on field-goal attempts and 15 for 16 on extra points. He also had a 48-yarder clank off the left upright in a Week 2 win over Washington and a potential game-winning 43-yarder blocked in a Week 3 loss at Cleveland. The Dallas Cowboys blocked an extra point in the Packers’ Week 4 tie in Dallas.

“Why not [have] confidence in Brandon?” Bisaccia said when asked what gave him confidence in McManus. “People miss kicks, people miss tackles, people miss throws, people miss catches, people miss blocks. He missed a kick in the game [against Carolina].

“He’s kicking off really well. He’s getting healthier and healthier by the day, had a hell of a set yesterday in practice, [and I] anticipate him having a really good day [Saturday].”

Bisaccia said Havrisik and McManus both kick field goals each week and do kickoff work, too. Although Havrisik hasn’t kicked in a game since Oct. 19, Bisaccia said he has a “great feel for how he’s kicking.”

What Bisaccia does not have a great feel for is why McManus, who went 20 for 21 on field-goal attempts and 30 for 30 on extra points last season hasn’t been himself the last two games. McManus did make 49- and 27-yarders against the Panthers.

Bisaccia dismissed the suggestion that the Packers having two kickers on their 53-man roster — something no other NFL team is currently doing, although several have a second kicker on their practice squad.

“I don’t think he was pleased with the miss, obviously,” Bisaccia said. “I think his kickoffs were really good, and he did make a field goal in the game. I just think he’s frustrated a little bit.

“This is the first time he’s coming off of an injury, so I think he’s frustrated a little bit with the ball, whether it’s going left and it’s a miss, or it goes right and it’s miss, or it hits the upright and it’s a miss. Those have been the things that have happened.

“He’s got to get his groove back, and really the only way to do that is in practice. … Again, we’re going to lean on a guy that’s had a tremendous performance up to this point, and we expect him to keep performing at a higher level as we get going. There’s still a lot of football left.”

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